Educators Emphasize Middle School Initiatives

"I don't know my locker combination, and I don't know where my classes are, but I think I'll figure it out by the end of the day," said Jayoa Bruce, 11, of Waldorf.

Charles administrators said improving academic achievement, particularly in middle schools, is a top priority this year. Superintendent James E. Richmond said it will be a challenge to have all schools meet "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child law.

Richmond rode with children on school buses to help set a positive tone.

"Day one is the single biggest experience for children," he said. "The school has got to start on day one like it was always opened, as if it never closed. You can't have kids waiting for schedules or looking for textbooks. It's crucial for the climate of the school."

In Anne Arundel, Superintendent Kevin Maxwell visited Annapolis and Bates middle schools, vexed by low enrollment and defections to private schools. Maxwell led a middle-school summit in October 2006 to plan improvements.

Anne Arundel educators invited sixth- and ninth-graders back a day earlier than their classmates to give them a feel for their schools. Older middle and high school students start classes today.

Several counties are opening new schools: Davis Middle in Charles, Arcola Elementary in Montgomery and Seven Oaks Elementary in Anne Arundel. At Seven Oaks, classes are starting today, a day late, because of construction.

There were reports of scattered problems. A Montgomery school bus engine caught fire en route to Walt Whitman High School in Potomac; no one was injured. At Milton M. Somers Middle School in La Plata, the second floor remained closed because construction crews were replacing the roof. A bus driver for Hillsmere Elementary School in Annapolis misunderstood the schedule for the morning's starting time and showed up late.

And there were the usual first-day jitters.

Outside Anne Arundel's Belle Grove Elementary in Brooklyn Park, a few students lingered with their parents after the 8:30 a.m. bell, too nervous to enter. They included Alexis Young, 8. Her grandmother, Susan Schauster, said Alexis seemed fine until that morning, when she woke up claiming a tummy ache and wishing to stay home.

"That's when I knew she was feeling a little worried about coming back," Schauster said.

A teaching assistant recognized Alexis, welcomed her with a hug and, after some consoling words, coaxed her into her new classroom.

At the end of opening day at Howard's Forest Ridge Elementary School in Laurel, a throng of adults waited anxiously for students to emerge. Five-year-old Naahdia Mundi's grandmother, aunt and mother were all there, hoping her first day of kindergarten went well.

"The whole family came out," said her mother, Angela Mundi, a nurse who rushed from work. The Mundis breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw Naahdia's big smile.

Songs had been sung, she told them, and pictures drawn. Naahdia had made five new friends.

"I had a good day," she said.

Staff writers Mary Otto, Philip Rucker and William Wan contributed to this report.